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Hitchhiker’s guide to Video Talent

I’m found myself asking for a videographer, audio, and voice over talent again. I also see others ask these questions from time to time. I wasn’t really wanting to take on this task of assembling a list of talent as it’s really not what this site is about. But alas, I and many other Kickstarter initiates need these services filled so I guess I best make an attempt at it. So below is a very simple listing of people who do this kind of work in various degrees and with diverse talents. I will not make any attempt to rate them, but I will try to post an example of their work.

I will however, take this moment to pontificate some of my views on a good Kickstarter intro (header) video. First off your video should be less than 3 minutes. Period. Longer and people just lose interest. Your video should be able setting a mood and showing off the theme of your game. Get to the point before you hit 30 seconds (e.g. show your game!) You can approach this in two ways,: 1) the personal outreach and 2) the flash and glitz showing off what you made.

In the first style of video (personal) you’ll want to show yourself or the designer in the video with a bit of explanation of why they are making the game and why they need the help of backers. Please don’t say you’ve been playing/designing games since you were a child. Of course you have and so have we all and it really has no relevance here. Also do not say you’ve been working on your game for over 10 years – that just begs the question of why you haven’t been able to complete it for so long and no, it doesn’t instill confidence that it’s highly refined. Just state the facts and ask for people’s support. This style can be made on the cheap with just a cell phone camera with a tri-pod, but you must make sure you have good lighting and are in a room where the audio pickup is really good. Simple Microsoft video editor can be used to edit this together and add a few words and a splash screen.

In this second style of video (flashy) you’ll be going for some cool looking artwork and great voice over work and mood setting music. You want to show off some awesome 3D mock-up of the game and move bits around the game’s play area like they would be during play. Don’t try to explain every rule, but a quick walk through to get an idea of the game is helpful. Don’t spend more then 30 seconds on intro/thematic non-game specific stuff or you’ll lose viewers. Below I have assembled a listing of some talents that would be needed for this style of video. This kind of video will take people experienced with working in and mixing videos with Adobe (or other high end) products.

Later in your story section of your campaign you should include a full how to play video. This is usually just the designer at a table explaining the game. But you can use someone with a larger following who does reviews and pay them to do a preview for you (see my O Reviewer, Reviewer wherefore art thou! post).